Channel letters are used to provide signage for buildings, shopping malls, and the like where it is desirable that the signage comprise illuminated letters or any other shapes that are easily seen, even a great distance, even at night. Each channel letter consists of an enclosure, usually a metal box, having a rear surface which is positioned against a raceway, the wall of the building or the like, on which the signage is mounted and a plurality of sides which define the figuration of the letter or shape. A light source, such as a neon tube or other light source is positioned within the walls of the enclosure and attached to the rear surface to provide illumination for the letter.
The channel letter also includes a planar, transparent lens, the outer shape of which corresponds to the figuration of the letter or any other shape as defined by the sides of the enclosure. The lens has a trim cap glued to the outer edges thereof which form a border to the lens and create a lip sized to fit snugly around the forward ends of the sides of the enclosure for retaining the lens to the enclosure. Screws are threaded through the lips of the trim cap and into the sides to retain the lens across the forward opening of the enclosure.
The manufacture of channel letters requires that a metal box be made having a back and sides with the sides defining the figuration of the letter or shape. The manufacture of the lens requires that a planar panel of transparent plastic be cut to the shape of the enclosure and that the trim cap be glued to the outer edges of the lens. The process of gluing the trim cap around the edges of the lens, however, is labor intensive and it is, therefore, expensive to manufacture the lens which fits across the forward ends of the enclosure of a channel letter.
It would be desirable to provide a channel letter having a lens which could be manufactured without incurring the labor intensive step of requiring the attachment of a trim cap.